


what about us

by dinglehorton



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: Kidnapping, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-01
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-26 10:49:35
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,278
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13234104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dinglehorton/pseuds/dinglehorton
Summary: Ari is kidnapped. Hell hath no fury like Sonny, Will, and Paul scorned.





	what about us

Arianna is missing. Or at least that’s what Will has gathered from the frantic phone calls he keeps getting from Gabi. For Will, spending more and more time with Ari has been the highlight of the last few months. Of all of his newfound family, Arianna has been the easiest to get along with. She’s sweet and smart, but she's also apparently gotten Will’s stubbornness and curiosity. Ari never _wants_ anything from him. Will can relax when he’s with her and Gabi, knowing that all Arianna ever wants is to play with him.

 

In the end, it’s Sonny that shows up at Marlena’s apartment first, eyes filled with sheer panic, “She’s not here?”

 

Will shakes his head, stepping to the side and letting Sonny enter the apartment, “Gabi just called me.”

 

“Oh god. Oh _god._ ”

 

“Have you called Paul?” Will asks. He’s not sure how to handle this situation and he’s nearly positive that of the three of them, Paul will know what to do. Arianna is his daughter, and _of course_ he’s worried, but Will doesn’t know how to handle Sonny in situations like this. He’s not sure what he’s supposed to do or how to act. Sonny’s pacing across the room, running one hand through his hair while he frantically taps away on his phone with the other. In the last half year, Will’s never seen Sonny so shaken, and it’s starting to scare him if he’s honest.

 

“He wouldn’t have taken her from school unless I asked,” Sonny says with a sigh, voice tinged with frustration and a little bit of anger that Will doesn’t already know that. “They said it was a light haired woman, I thought maybe—“

 

“You thought Sami took her,” Will finishes with a shake of his head. “She left already.”

 

“I know, I know,” Sonny says and then he’s pacing again, frustration and anger and worry building with every passing second. “I don’t know what I was thinking. I was hoping—I don’t know!”

 

“Hey,” Will steps forward and stops Sonny in his tracks. Will grabs Sonny’s shoulders, squeezing them both until his breathing slows and he relaxes a bit.

 

Sonny huffs out a humorless laugh, “How’d you know?”

 

“What?” Will asks, confused, but he doesn’t remove his hands from Sonny’s shoulders. 

 

“You—“ Sonny looks unsure of himself for a moment, but he continues anyway. “You used to do that. To calm me down when I was stressed about the coffee house. You give… gave great massages.”

 

Will smiles, genuinely smiles at Sonny’s memory, “I’m glad I can help. It’s gonna be okay. We’re going to find our little girl.”

 

—

 

Gabi’s quiet when they arrive at Rafe’s. She’s shed all the tears she can, but she’s shaking when Will wraps an arm around her shoulders. She leans into his embrace, squeezing her arms around his middle. It feels familiar in so many ways. Paul’s off in the corner, tapping away on his tablet with a look of determination on his face.

 

“What can I do?” Will whispers against the top of her head.

 

“Just—hold me?” Gabi asks, sniffling against his chest. Will obliges her; his heart aches with every shuddering breath she takes. “Rafe’s already at the station with Hope.”

 

“Then we’ll hold down the fort here until they have news,” Will says and he watches Paul for a moment, a wave of affection swirling in his stomach. “Paul and Rafe will find something.”

 

—

 

Just as Will expected, Paul is the levelheaded one. He jumps into action almost immediately without a hint of panic in his eyes. He keeps tapping his pen against the desk though, the only sign of his growing concern. Sonny keeps pacing, dialing and redialing his phone. Will isn’t sure _who_ he is dialing, but he senses that the panic is growing in Sonny, and it worries him how red his face is getting. Will tries the shoulder thing again, squeezes once and then lets his hands glide down Sonny’s arms and then back up again. He wishes he could be more reassuring, more helpful, but it seems to at least calm Sonny for a bit.

 

When John calls there’s more information—a tall woman with a wig had claimed she was Sami Brady and was able to check Ari out of school. Chad’s there too now, looking more pissed than Will has known him to be in the last few months. It sparks a bit of pride in Will. Even if Will can’t remember their friendship, he knows that the man cares deeply for him and that little girl.

 

“I have Andre calling some contacts,” Chad says once they’ve all been updated. “I’m sure Victor has some too, but—“

 

“How do we know it wasn’t Andre who took her?”

 

“Sonny—" Abigail steps forward to talk him down, but Chad doesn’t look angry or offended, at least not to Will. Chad looks like he understands, like he’s already run that scenario through his own head.

 

“Why would he have any reason to take Ari?” Chad fires back. There’s heat in his voice, but fiery defense he’s mounting doesn’t reach his eyes. “He wouldn’t—“

 

“We know,” Paul says, wrapping one hand around Sonny's wrist. “He wouldn’t.”

 

Sonny looks apologetic, but he doesn’t say anything more. It only takes Chad a second for him to step forward and pull his best friend into a bone crushing hug. Chad whispers something to him that only the two of them can hear and when they finally pull away from each other, Sonny’s eyes are shiny with unshed tears.

 

—

 

“I’ve got it!” Paul shouts, nearly knocking over the table as he stands, his tablet clutched in his hand. “The security cameras from the school record all the doors.”

 

“Let me see!” Gabi yells, pulling Paul down onto the couch next to her so she can see the screen. “Oh my god.”

 

“Is that—“ Sonny leans over the back of the couch to get a better view, pointing at the woman walking into the frame of the video. “Is that _Susan Banks_?” There’s no mistaking it as the woman turns towards the camera, and Paul pauses on Susan Banks’ face.

 

Will’s face drains of all color and his stomach flips over and twists. Every sound, every movement feels like he’s treading under water.He’s not even aware that he’s standing up and pressing a hand over his mouth, until he backs up into Chad. “No.”

 

“That _bitch_ stole my daughter?” Gabi yells angrily, handing the tablet back to Paul before she throws it at the wall instead.

 

“No. She _wouldn’t_ ,” Will says, wrapping his arms around himself mostly to stop the shaking. “Gabi, she _wouldn’t_.”

 

“Well obviously she did! This is all your fault!” Gabi screams, tears streaming down her cheeks again. Will knows she’s scared, that she doesn’t mean it, but the words still sting.

 

“Guys, come on,” Paul’s voice is firm, but soft, always the voice of reason. “This is what she wants, for us to be fighting instead of out looking for Ari. We need to work together, not let her divide us.”

 

“Paul's right," Chad says, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll call Rafe and update him on what we’ve found.”

 

“I’ll call dad,” Paul says with a nod. “He’ll be able to track the license plate the cameras in the parking lot picked up.” He hugs Gabi for a few moments, wipes the tears from her cheeks with the pads of his thumbs, and rests his forehead against hers. “We’re gonna bring her home.”

 

“Promise?” Gabi whispers, voice broken and filled with fear.

 

“I promise you. We’re going to bring your little girl home.”

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on the hellsite known as tumblr at dinglehorton where i routinely do nothing but talk about soap operas :)


End file.
